Minority students from lower income families are not receiving needed dollars from merit scholarships according to a study released this week.
The study, conducted by Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project, revealed white students from wealthier families are most often the recipients of such awards.
Michigan was among four states analyzed by the project, in which researchers measured data collected from the states’ departments of education.
“The folks who succeed on these tests are the folks that come from upper-income families who have access to test preparation and good high schools and all the kinds of resources that allow them to succeed,” said Patricia Marin, co-editor of the study and Research Associate for the project.
According to the Michigan Department of Education, 14 percent of students who are eligible for the Michigan Merit awards are minorities and only 4 percent of those students have accepted the award.
Concerned with the results of the report, T.J. Bucholz, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education, said, “The numbers just don’t add up. There is probably a better way to get these dollars into the hands of students who need it most.”
In 1999, about 35,000 of 113,000 high school juniors qualified to receive Michigan’s Merit award, according to the study. Of those, about 31,000 students were white; 1,200 were black and 600 were Hispanic.
Bucholz said there have been discussions among board members regarding possible solutions to the problem, but he says discontinuing the award is not among the possibilities. However, some politicians have called for redirecting the money from the merit award, which funded by Michigan’s share of the tobacco settlement money, and giving it to health awareness programs.
Gov. John Engler initiated the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Program two years ago. Similar programs exist in 11 other states.
The program awards a $2,500 scholarship to students who have passed four out of the five portions of the Michigan Education Assessment Program, if they decide to attend a public college or a state university. Students who leave the state or attend private colleges receive $1,000.
Despite the research, Rick Shipman, director of the MSU Office of Financial Aid, said there is a large population of minority students who are receiving the merit award.
“MSU is different than a lot of four-year schools in that we really do admit a broad range of students from a broad range of backgrounds,” he added.
Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, which distributes the award, said the program is doing exactly what it was designed to do - award students for success on the MEAP.
“It was applied to encourage and award success regardless of ethnic background,” he said. “Every student in Michigan is eligible to take the MEAP test. It’s not a need based program, that’s true, but it is open to each and every student that attends high school in the state.”
Stanton said it is currently impossible to determine the amount of money awarded by the state because students have up to four years to certify their award.
But some feel the study spotlights a more important issue than the awards.
Marcelina Trevino-Savala, coordinator of Chicano/Latino student affairs in the MSU Office of Racial and Ethnic Student Affairs, thinks the issue is unequal education opportunities.
“This really shows that school systems aren’t all equal,” she said. “Of course that is a concern and will continue to be. Even if they change the criteria of the award, it doesn’t change the issue of equal education.”
Megan Frye can be reached at fryemega@msu.edu.
